A/N: Hi y'all! I haven't written anything for a while, so this here is just a result of a rusty mind. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: All things easily publicly recognizable belong to Suzanne Collins. I do not own The Hunger Games.
"Madge, honey, can you get the door? Fran and I are trying to get your mother in the bed." My father calls from the stairs. I set down my book, and sigh. My mother's got wind that it's Reaping Day today, and fainted on the dining table.
I stand up, and shake my legs a little. My foot fell asleep, and it feels like pins are poking every time I take a step, but I ignore it. I open the door to see Katniss and Gale with a bag of strawberries. We just stare at each other for a while until I hold up a finger to get the sack of money my father keeps on the counter. Across the burlap sack, STAWBERRIES is written in his all caps penmanship. Sloppy and like a fourteen year old's. And he tells me to work on my writing.
I return, and begin to exchange the goods. While I'm counting the money, I hear Gale say something. I almost don't catch it. "Pretty dress."
I look at him, narrowing my eyes. Was he sarcastic? It sounded sarcastic. Ha, I'll be just as confusing with him. I shoot him a smile. "Well, If I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?"
I almost want to swallow back my words. The look on Gale's face is terrifying, yet satisfactory as well. But all the smugness I feel drains when he composes himself, and replies in a sickly smooth voice, "You won't be going to the Capitol," he eyes my pin. The same one my aunt wore when she came back in that wooden box. The same box nearly every tribute from District 12 comes back in. "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was twelve years old."
The thought of the pin had already made me sick. She only had five or six entries as well, and look at her, she was picked, leaving my mother in a miserable state and me with this Mockingjay pin.
I didn't listen to Katniss and Gale's after that. Only after I gave her the money did I say anything. "Good luck, Katniss." I caught myself before wishing Gale luck too. He just got on my nerves with what he said.
I watch them leave, and slowly close the door. I look around the kitchen quickly. If our maid, Fran, got light of the conversation I just had, I would be reciting civil pleasantries with her until next week.
I go to my room, and pick up my book again. I read until my father drags me downstairs, and tries to fix me up in anyway. He licks his hand and almost brushes my hair with it until I stop him.
"Dad, you don't have to do this. I'll be fine." I say, smoothing out his wrinkled shirt. He grimaces.
"I just wish I could pluck all those slips with your name on them out, and you'll never have to go to the Games." He looks me over. I smile at him ruefully.
"You're being like Fran. And even if I get picked, I'll be fine. I'm smart." My family has been especially careful about being reaped. There has never been a moment when we believe that it's impossible for me to be reaped. My mother's been scarred enough to ensure that my father and I don't take the liberty in declaring me safe.
"Besides," I continue, "you should be the one worried. Don't want to bore the crowd." He chuckles, but I can see the pain in his eyes as I kiss him goodbye and walk out the door.
I hold my head up high as I walk out into the hall as the Peacekeepers close the door behind me.
I knew after I visited Katniss, this was not a time to act panicked, or like a little girl. She was strong, and some of it rubbed off on me when I went in to visit her. I just came back from visiting Peeta, even if I didn't know him too well. I believed I came off strong for the both of them, making me feel better.
Even though the cameras won't be on me, even though I wasn't the one to be reaped, keeping up a brave front was better than breaking down and weeping. It made me feel less useless.
However, my high head forgot to do something: watch where I was going. I crashed into some clothed pillar. I snorted before opening my eyes. Presentation always counts, but I mean, my father didn't have to throw sheets on poles and spray them with pine scented air freshener.
"Madge." I groaned. I knew that pole's voice. I had a small tiff with it this morning.
I slowly opened my eyes, and looked up at the towering figure.
"Gale." I said in the same clipped voice he used. He rolled his eyes as I straightened out my white dress while I tried to hide my embarrassment. I heard some shoes scuff the ground as Katniss and Peeta were being taken out of their rooms. They were too far away for Gale and me to see them exit through the back.
"So, what business do you have visiting Mellark?" I scrunched my nose, disliking Gale's accusatory and suspicious tone.
"I was wishing him luck. His father helped out my family in more ways that just providing bread on the table." I sniffed, sticking my nose so high, I fear he might have been able to see right up it. Gale just laughed, and its sound just rubbed me in the wrong way. It was such a callous, sadistic laugh, it made me regret answering him.
I then realized the effect of my words on him. I never had to work a day in my life; I was always guaranteed food on the table. But Gale? He had to hunt, be constantly on his toes because he was never sure when his next meal might be.
"Well, even if your boyfriend dies, you'll still have that bread." I glowered at Gale. Does he not know how extremely rude that was? And out of all the boys in District 12, he should be the one to know that Peeta was absolutely in love with Katniss.
Pfft, and here I was just about to sympathize with him.
"He's not by boyfriend. I was just being kind, which I doubt that you could even get the concept of!" I huff, storming down the hall.
From all that's happened today, I do not need this. Especially from that guy. I'm about to lose my one good friend, my mother has fainted and won't wake up, my father's a sweating mess, and well, Reaping Day is just a terrible day in general. Gale's sassiness is the last thing I need.
"Madge!" I hear him call me, but I just roll my eyes, and power on. Gale's footsteps are so quiet that I'm startled when I find that he's quickly closed the distance between us that I tried so hard to create.
"What?" I hiss. Today, I am so not the quit, proper and prim girl my parents tried to raise. I duck my head down, so to not let Gale see the shame brought on my face as I'm disobeying all of my sickly mother's lessons on proper etiquette. But it only seemed to fuel my fire. All I could see is that despite how fast I was going, my steps were still so tiny that it only took Gale to cover the same distance that took me two strides in one.
"Madge, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. It's just… with Katniss leaving, I don't know how to deal with anything. I feel a little lost." He apologizes. I feel less mad, as sorrow takes up some space in my heart. I wasn't Katniss' only friend.
My feel slow down to a regular pace as I get closer to the grand doors. I sigh as Gale opens them, blinding me with light. I hold up a hand to shade my eyes and look at him.
"Well, first things first, take your siblings home and make sure everything's okay. Check up on Prim and her mother. After that, you can be as lost as you want." I instruct him. He nods solemnly. I blush a bit. I never thought I'd be giving this head strong boy orders. Well, Gale's been looking more like a man than a boy for a while now, so it seems even more unbelievable.
"What're you going to do?" He asks me as we hit the end of the patio. I tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear, and look out at the train station. I see the train moving towards the setting sun, and sigh.
"I'm going to wake up my mom, and tell her the day is over." I say. Gale just stares at me, and I get the sudden urge to say a closing line, something kind to end this conversation. He looks pained as the end of the train disappears in the trees.
"If you need any help, you can just ask me." I look at him just in time to see him scoff. I frown.
"If I need any type of Capital sponsored help, I'll be sure to find you." He drawls sarcastically.
"You know, I was just trying to be nice. I may be going through some pain too right now, but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss." I scowl at him, crossing my arms.
Gale rolls his eyes. "I don't need your sympathy. Or your help." He guffaws at the word "help", and turns, strolling down the stairs and right out of town.
I put my fingers on my temple. Out of all the people in the world, Gale is the only one to really ruffle my feathers. How in the world Katniss was able to deal with him, I don't know, but it must have taken a lot of patience.